Intel is traditionally at least a year ahead of AMD when it comes to shifting to a new development process. Intel just announced that its 32nm manufacturing process development phase is done.

The new process is more energy efficient, and means that the company can get a higher performing transistor and more of them at the same wafer or chip. The company will start a production in Q4 2009, which means that Westmere stuff might be on time.

It is all the part of the tick - tock technology where Nehalem is tick and Westmere 32nm tock processor that should be looked at as slightly improved Nehalem shrink down. If Intel starts manufacturing its chips next year on schedule, this would be the fourth consecutive year that they managed to introduce a new generation every twelve months. This also means that every two years we get a new process and in the last few years we went from 130nm to 90nm, followed by 65nm and today's cutting edge 45nm.

Next year, or Q4 2009 to be more exact, is the year of 32nm for Intel, while AMD plans this in 2011 with possibility of pilot production in Q4 2010.

The new 32nm process should mean that Intel should be able to keep its performance crown in battery life on Intel-based laptops, server market and desktop and the fact that AMD will transition more than a year after Intel actually helps its odds.

The new process also means an ability to create entirely new product lines for MIDs, CE equipment, embedded computers and netbooks.